Billy Bob Thornton is terrific as Willie T. Stokes, a lowlife department-store Santa in Terry Zwigoff's outrageous comedic follow-up to his offbeat hit GHOST WORLD. Every year, Stokes takes a job as Santa in a different place in order to rob the store he's working in. The diminutive Tony Cox plays his horny sidekick, Marcus, the real mastermind, who is even more foulmouthed than Stokes. Brett Kelly is Thurman Merman, an eight-year-old who desperately needs to believe in the real Santa Claus--and just might have a good enough heart to change Stokes's evil ways. Or maybe not. And Lauren Graham plays Sue, a young sexpot who wants to get a different kind of gift from Santa. Providing excellent comic relief in this black comedy is John Ritter, in his last film role, as the mousy mall manager, and Bernie Mac as Gin, the mall security guard who suspects something is not right. Be warned--BAD SANTA is not a family holiday movie. It is lewd, crude, and very funny, but it is most definitely not for children. Joel and Ethan Coen, the brothers behind such quirky hits as RAISING ARIZONA and BARTON FINK, are the executive producers who came up with the idea in the first place, influenced by the likes of THE BAD NEWS BEARS and SOUTH PARK.

Uncut "BAD SANTA is a towering achievement: a dark, profane comedy about everything that's both right and wrong with the season of goodwill. Essential, dark-hearted Yuletide viewing for misanthropes everywhere." 12/01/2004 p.178